The present invention relates to a recreational floating device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a collapsible inner tube seat insert.
In recreational water sports, one of the most popular sports is known as "tubing". This sport is especially popular in rivers where moderate to small rapids are found. Of course, inner tubes are also used on other bodies of water for a wide variety of uses.
While inner tubes enjoy great popularity because of their availability and low cost, there are several practical drawbacks to their use. First, when floating on an inner tube, the body is commonly placed inside the inner tube, with legs and arms being placed over the top of the tube to keep the person from falling through. In order to be comfortable for long periods of time, the tube should be relatively small so that the arms can hang over the side of the tube. If the tube is too large in diameter, this may be more comfortable as far as the body not being folded into a cramped position, but the sides of the tube are farther away, and the arms become tired because the weight of the person's body must be supported farther down on the arms. Thus, it can be seen that if the tube can be deformed in an axis parallel to the body, the sides of the tube would be drawn in closer, while more room is allowed along the length of the body.
The second drawback to inner tubes is that the lower back and bottom of a person will protrude through the tube, which can cause problems in shallow rapids where these parts of the body may drag over rocks or other obstacles. Thus, providing a seat inside the inner tube that would support these parts of the body would avoid collisions with underwater objects.
Another problem with inner tubes relates to the location of their normal use. Normally, tubing is done in lakes or rivers, which can be remote from supplies of compressed air. Thus, it can be seen that if a device which can overcome the above problems is to be easily detachable from the inner tube, it should be able to be inserted and withdrawn from the inner tube while the tube is inflated.
Among the prior art references which propose deforming or stretching the tube along the longitudinal axis are U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,124,062 (issued to Grant, et al.), 2,080,216 (issued to Rea) and 1,869,186 (issued to Davidson). However, the Davidson reference requires that the tube be deflated before the seat can be inserted or withdrawn. Grant, et al., seems to suffer from the same limitation, as does the Rea reference.
In addition to the references cited, other references also disclose seat arrangements for inner tubes, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,743,333 (issued to Ely), 1,748,170 (issued to Chesnut), 1,764,852 (issued to Phillips), 1,793,905 (issued to Chesnut), 3,021,536 (issued to Haggerty), and 4,160,299 (issued to Hilbern). However, none of these references seek to deform the inner tube along the longitudinal axis to make it more closely fit the contours of the human body.
The inner tube seat insert which can overcome the above-mentioned problems should be easy to insert and remove, and should be capable of doing so with an inflated tube. This goal is best accomplished by a collapsible frame of some sort which can be placed inside the inner tube and locked into place once the desired stretching of the tube has occurred. As mentioned, Grant, et al., accomplishes the deformation and provides a seat for a child, but teaches a rigid frame which requires that the inner tube be placed around the frame in a deflated state and then inflated. A reference to McCrory, et al., (U.S. Pat. No. 4,449,473) discloses a demountable transom on an inflatable boat. Besides being for a completely different purpose, the reference contains several structural differences from the present invention which would make the structure taught by that reference incapable of accomplishing the purposes set forth below.
Therefore, it is the purpose of the present invention to provide an easily insertable and removable seat for an inner tube which stretches the inner tube to more closely follow the shape of the human body.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a seat for an inner tube which can easily be inserted or removed without inflating or deflating the tube.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a seat for inserting within an inner tube.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be made evident by the following detailed description of a presently preferred embodiment, of the invention.